"V" class
destroyer HMS Vanquisher, shown here with post-WW1 pennant
number (Photo Ships).
All
the surviving "V & W"'s, often with major modifications
played an important part throughout World War 2

The images or
"snaps" were taken by my grandfather. I have no idea what
camera he used, but setting the right exposure was
obviously a challenge. By the time he was serving in HMS
Curlew in 1922, apparently as ships' photographer,
he had made great strides in the art.

The
Cruise, from Plymouth to May Island via the Baltic and
Scandinavia

9.50
pm joined forces & proceeded to Deal off Kentish
coast to wait for arrival of 2nd L.C.S.
& Viscount, Violent & Wolfhound, anchored
off Deal at 7 AM Thursday Sept 1st, at
11.15 AM 2nd LCS & 3 destroyers were
sighted, so anchor was weighed & Cruising
formation taken up for passage to Brunsbuttel where
we are due to arrive on Friday night.

Friday
morning (2 Sept) Heligoland was sighted
through a slight haze, a loud explosion was heard,
which apparently was caused by the blowing up of the
Forts under the Allied terms of the Armistice.

5
PM arrived off Cuxhaven. As the Squadron formed into
single line while proceeding through the narrow
channel leading from Cuxhaven to the Canal locks at
Brunsbuttel. The promenade alongside the Canal at
Cuxhaven was packed with spectators as the Squadron
steamed quite close to the Front. I expect there was
a few uncomplimentary remarks passed by the
"Jerrys".

I
didn't get the chance of taking any snaps as we
passed.

Brunsbuttel
was reached just before 8 PM. The Light Cruisers
proceeded straight into the locks, the Destroyers
remaining outside until they were securely berthed.

Shortly
after 8 PM the signal was received for us to proceed
into the locks, by the time we entered it was very
dark so I didn't get much opportunity of seeing
anything of interest, except that I noticed it was
on a more elaborate & up to date scale than the
Suez Canal. It commenced to rain heavily now, but
the rain didn't prevent a decent crowd of sightseers
being present. At 10 PM the lock gates were closed
& the whole squadron raised ?10 feet to bring
the water level to the canal, when the gates were
opened & we were ordered to proceed at 5 minute
intervals as soon as the German pilots were onboard.
At 10.30 our pilot arrived & Vanquisher was
ordered to take charge of the remaining destroyers
& proceed through the Canal.

The
Canal was brilliantly lit up with Electric light
standards at intervals of about 200 yards, several
British & Foreign steamers loaded with pine
passed us. Nothing of interest occurred during the
night with the exception of changing Pilots half way
through the Canal.

Kiel
was reached at daylight, all the Squadron proceeded
into the locks to be lowered 4ft to the level of the
Baltic. Several German Battleships & Cruisers
were at anchor off Kiel mostly of an obsolete type.

The
Squadron formed up off Kiel & proceeded enroute
for Dantzig, our first Port of call, where we were
due to arrive at noon on Sunday (4 Sept).

On
Saturday night the Destroyers made a night attack on
the Light Cruisers which was successfully carried
out.

We
were ordered to secure alongside the Torpedo Harbour
in the Naval Dockyard. The Dockyard presented a
forlorn appearance as the Dockyard had ceased to be
used since the signing of the Peace Terms,
consequently the place was overgrown with grass.

Monday Sept 5th

Went
onshore
with two others to have look around the place. Was
met at the gates by the usual crowd of money
changers offering German Marks for 1£ notes. Took
the best offer which was 320 marks to the 1£. The
rate of exchange being 330 so didn't do so bad.

Dantzig
appeared to be in a fairly thriving condition, well
set out & clean, but with a peculiar smell like
burning Pine trees. I got into conversation with a
German who spoke very good English, before the war
he served onboard British Merchant vessels & had
lived at Barrow (Barry?) in Wales. He was interned
at the Isle of Man during the war. He told me that
the skilled workman got 30 marks a day equal to the
pre war value of about 29/- but he said it cost him
25 marks for bed & breakfast in
quite a modest Hotel. After leaving him in a German
cafe we proceeded by way of the back streets to the
main thoroughfare. While passing through one of the
narrow lanes someone in the one of the houseson the
opposite side threw a stone at us which happily
missed me by inches, otherwise should possibly have
gone out for the count. We didn't stay to argue but
went on. No more back streets for us.

The
place was very cheap according to what we got for
the English Pound note, so the majority took the
opportunity of visiting the large stores &
bought curios etc.

Memel

We
left Dantzig at 2 PM on Wednesday Sept 7th
for our next Port of call viz Memel which was only a
distance of 60 miles. As we had to make a night trip
of it, the opportunity was taken of making a night
torpedo attack on the Light Cruisers commencing at
10 PM & finishing up about midnight. We expected
to make Memel at 5AM but owing to a thick fog speed
had to be reduced & all ships arrived at
different intervals and anchored about 2 miles from
the coast with the exception of the Flagship
Curacoa, Spenser & Wolfhound who proceeded
alongside the jetty there, entertainments in the way
of shooting & horse riding was provided for the
officers, also a football match against the French
Chasseurs, leave was also given. I did not land
& from all accounts I didn't miss much as it was
a miserable place, nothing to be seen except mean
streets & nothing to be bought.

We
left Memel at 11.30 PM on Friday Sept 9th
for Libau. I had been here previously in the
Cassandra in December 1918 shortly after the
Armistice.

Libau

Alongside
the Jetty at Libau

We
arrived Libau at 6 AM on Saturday (10 Sept)
but had to anchor in the Commercial harbour for the
time being on account of the high wind. Orders were
received for us to go up & secure alongside the
jetty at quarter of an hour intervals so as to give
each ship plenty of time to secure alongside. We got
alongside about 10 PM & was immediately
surrounded by a horde of women & children
begging for bread & clothes. Some awful sights
were seen here as the majority of the people were
half starved with the exception of the Jews who
apparently are the chief heads of all Departments in
Latvia.

A
Policeman in a nondescript rig patrolled up &
down the jetty alongside the ships armed with a
rifle & sword to keep the women & children
on the move. He hit one old woman & nearly got
murdered for his pains by some of our chaps, so he
kept a respectful distance after that & later
was withdrawn. We gave away to some young lads, old
sailors suits etc & they went all the way on
them. Photo
(left) shows a few of them and an old organ
grinder with the proverbial monkey.

Four
of us went ashore to view the sights. We had to
cross the river by a small ferry. None of us had any
Latvian Roubles so one suggested we should give a
cigarette each. We didn't say anything until we got
to the other side & was agreeably surprised when
the man took the four cigarettes with a smile all
over his face & tons of thanks. We thought that
a good start anyhow, so we changed £1 note each at
the money changers & received 1300 Roubles for
it.

Libau
is a noted place for Amber necklaces so that was the
next thing we searched for. Several shops were
visited, but either the specimens shown had flaws or
else the price was too excessive, a decent one cost
about 6500 roubles so we gave it up as a bad job and
decided that as the streets were all cobbly and full
of ruts we should view the sights from a Drosky. As
we couldn't speak Latvian we found a young boy who
could speak a little English, the bargain being that
for 100 roubles each the Drosky driver would take us
around the town. We had the drive, more like a
switchback ride than anything else & was very
glad when it was all over, as the sights were
disappointing. We eventually had to pay 200 Roubles
each before we could get clear away or else get a
crowd round & stop all the traffic, so we paid
up & looked pleasant, and searched for a café
where the succulent hop could be obtained. That too
was disappointing, the taste of it being like onion
water kept over night, plenty of froth on the top
though. One bottle each was quite sufficient to make
us move. The bill of costs said 40 Roubles a bottle,
when we came to pay up, it had run up to 55 a
bottle, the extra it was pointed out to us as
follows - 5 Roubles for tax, 5 for the waiter &
5 for the proprietor of the café, so we were had
again, but that was equalised by the other two
walking out without paying so they didn't gain much
from after all. After that lot we decided we had had
enough so bought a few postcards & came onboard
for tea.

On
arrival onboard, the amber merchant was there with a
few decent specimens, and I bought one for 1100
Roubles.

The
following day the General of the Latvians paid his
official visit followed by the band. "Some Band"!!
The General looked more like an old farmer than a
distinguished Soldier. I suppose he was
distinguished according to the marks of respect paid
to him by the whole population. Probably he was got
rid of the next week. Little things like that
doesn't trouble the Latvians. I took a couple of
snaps of beggars alongside, but didn't get very good
results out of them.

We
received orders to leave at 4 PM today Monday (12
Sept).

During
the afternoon the Lettish Band arrived in full force
on the jetty & played a few selections and as we
slipped the jetty the Band stayed at the entrance
& gave us a farewell tune as we steamed past. I
can't say I was much impressed with my stay at
Libau.

Peasant
woman (above) with 5 children begging
alongside the ship at Libau. The woman at the
Palisades with 2 children sent away rejoicing with a
can full of Haricot beans & roast potatoes with
a loaf of bread to make the meal complete.

Riga

Riga
(above) - note the barrels of dried fish for
the starving inhabitants of the interior (destroyers
alongside on right)

The
Chief seaport on the Baltic for Russia, large
exports of timber, hides etc.

On
our way here from Libau, the Light Cruiser Cordelia
at 3.20 this morning had a man fall overboard. The
first intimation we got was when we heard the cry
for help from the man in the water. We switched on
our 10" searchlight projectors & luckily the
rays dropped on him straight away, so the engines
were stopped & a boat lowered to pick him up. It
was rather cold too and being in the middle of the
night he was a very lucky man to be picked up.

As
we neared the entrance to Riga which by the way is
about 10 miles from the entrance up a broad River
called the DUNA a flight of aeroplanes came out to
escort us in. They performed all the usual stunts
just to impress us I suppose, but we were pretty
used to all that sort of thing after five years of
war, still we admired & appreciated the
compliment paid to us.

The
first view of Riga is very impressive, the town
seems one mass of gilded domed churches, &
incidentally it is one the most magnificent cities I
have ever been to. Onshore the City is well laid out
having broad avenues flanked with trees on either
side, the roads are divided up, one part for
carriages & the other for bicycles. The buses
are built on a magnificent scale, being both large
& imposing. It was hard to believe the
Bolsheviks had only recently been evicted from Riga.
The people seemed fairly well clad & the shops
well filled with eatables. Both black & white
bread was displayed & plenty of confectionery.

A
football match had been arranged between the
Destroyers & the Union Club, also Light Cruisers
& Y.M.C.A. The Destroyers won 1-0, but the L Crs
lost 2-1. They played a very good game of football
and both matches were well worth watching. After the
match we explored the place as far as possible, and
fell in with a Lettish Soldier who could speak a few
words of English. He gave us an invitation to his
place which we accepted with some misgivings as to
whether we were doing the correct thing or not.
Anyway there was three of us so we chanced it. He
took us to a large house opposite the Opera House.
We were introduced to his Father & Mother, Aunt,
four Brothers & two Sisters. They could all
speak a little English. They informed us that we
were in time for dinner. This was 8 PM, but we
assured them that we weren't hungry, although there
was a decent spread on the table, consisting of
boiled fish with a kind of Irish stew mixed up with
it, cold beef & boiled potatoes, fruit, tea,
coffee, black & white bread. I plumped for a
glass of coffee & and apple, I didn't like
tackling the other stuff. Another brother arrived
who could speak perfect English. He said he had been
several years in England, but on the outbreak of war
he returned to Russia. After the revolution he was
taken prisoner by the Bolsheviks & twice stood
up against a wall to be shot, but was reprieved each
time, through influence he informed us afterwards.
They were Russian Jews & big merchants in pre
war days so perhaps that accounted for it.

We
had a very pleasant & sociable evening smoking
long Russian cigarettes & drinking glasses of
coffee & eventually left at 11 PM escorted by
two of the sons back to the Custom House as it was
pitch dark & there were no lights in the place.

We
left (Riga) at 4 PM Thursday Sept 25th(should read 15th) for Reval.

It
proved to be a large 500lb mine with horns on. As it
didn't have a rusty appearance it was probably laid
during the last 12 months

Reval

Reval
(above) from the outer arm of the jetty
showing the narrow entrance the ships had to come
through.

Saturday
(17 Sept) At 8 PM a mine was sighted at the
entrance to Reval, and the Violent was ordered to
sink it (see above).

While
the Fleet was stopped during this operation Petty
Officer Mitchell (listed as Officer's
Cook 1c Frederick C MITCHELL L 4508 on the 17th)of the Flagship
Curacoa was caught in one the Paravane wires &
dragged over the side and cut in two, his body
passed between the lines partly submerged, and
before it could be picked up, sank. Search was made
for the body for half an hour without results, so
Ensigns were half-masted & the Funeral Service
read over the spot where he sank. The Fleet then
proceeded underway for Reval.

On
arriving off the entrance the Fleet was met by a
squadron of Seaplanes which manoeuvred very well
considering the very high wind & rough state of
the sea.

The
Fleet formed into 3 columns in line abreast 3rd
Division of Destroyers leading followed by the 4
Light Cruiser at 2 1/2 cables apart, the fourth
Division of Destroyers bringing up the rear.

As
we rounded the point to the harbour, Reval presented
a very pleasing appearance with its large domed
churches showing up against a clear sky & back
ground. We were given to understand that we were to
go alongside the jetty, so steam was kept raised
ready to go alongside.

10
o'clock on Sunday morning (18 Sept). The
destroyers were ordered to proceed alongside the
outer arm of the Jetty, Vanquisher leading the way.
It was rather a ticklish piece of work as the ships
had to be manoeuvred through a small gap which
didn't allow for much room for turning as the
channel was very narrow with mud banks on either
side, and owing to the strong wind it was anything
but an easy job. We made two attempts before we
successfully negotiated the turn, but eventually we
secured alongside a small steamer, the other boats
coming in as the other ahead cleared the entrance.

The
President of Foreign Ministers invited all Captains
to lunch with him, while a concert was arranged at
the Town Hall for the men. An hours entertainment
was arranged, but as assistance in the way of turns
from the Fleet was asked for, it finished with a 3
1/2 hours entertainment.

I
didn't go ashore here, but from the reports the
outside appearance was far superior to the interior,
the streets were very narrow & dirty, the homes
badly needing repair etc.

Monday
(19 Sept) at 6 AM we left for Helsingfors the
capital of Finland, about 64 miles across the Gulf.

Helsingfors Capital of
Finland

Entrance toHelsingfors,
Finland

Helsingfors
was reached about 11 AM today Monday after a rough
passage across the Gulf from Reval

Sept
20th . The entrance to Helsingfors is
surrounded by numerous small islands, so it was
necessary to have Finnish pilots. Our pilot couldn't
speak English or French, but as he could speak
Russian, one of our Petty Officers who had been in
Russia for 2 or 3 years & could speak a little
Russian and so did the interpreting part of the
business & so got over the difficulty.

All
the Destroyers proceeded to the inner harbour &
the Light Cruiser to the other side of the Island.

The
people here were very civil & obliging. It is
one of the prettiest little seaports I've been to.
The streets were well laid out. The main street
especially was very pretty with extensive gardens
running through the centre.

Owing
to the rate of exchange which was 230 marks to the
£1 we found things very cheap. I purchased a lot of
glass ware, scent & several other things at a
very cheap rate.

The
Franco Restaurant that I went into gave a very good
spread for 12 marks equivalent to 1/-. The orchestra
played while you had lunch. The lunch consisted of
steak, onions, potatoes & cabbage, with cheese,
Black & White bread & pats of butter all for
a bob.

I
had a thorough good walk round here & it seemed
hard to realise Helsingfors is ice bound for 4
months of the year.

Our
stay at Helsingfors lasted for three days. I think
we all enjoyed ourselves here and would have liked
to stay for at least another week, but we had to
adhere to our original programme so the Fleet left
at 2 PM on Thursday (22 Sept) for out next
port of call, Stockholm the Capital of Sweden.

Cathedral at
Helsingfors (left)with gilt domes. The General Post
Office & Archeological Society's building is
just behind the Cathedral

Stockholm, Sweden

View
of the Pilot Stationwhere pilots were changed

After
leaving Helsingfors we caught rough weather crossing
the Baltic & all night long we were ploughing
through heavy head seas, tossing & rolling about
like corks, but as it was only a nights trip across
we didn't mind much. At 5 AM we were well under the
shelter of the Aland Islands & picked up Pilots
off the Island of Upsala to begin our 60 mile trip
up the Fjords to Stockholm.

The
scenery was magnificent all the way up, although
towards the close of the summer season the riverside
bungalows were gaily decorated. We passed a Swedish
Naval Base & Garrison about 20 miles before we
got to Stockholm, the Swedish Sailors standing to
attention as we passed quite close to the shore at
this point. Am afraid the snaps I took don't give a
very adequate view as to what it really looked like.

We
arrived off Stockholm at noon & proceeded direct
to the jetty to land Lt Donnell from our ship to
Hospital seriously ill.

The
remainder of the Fleet went & anchored close to
the oiler Petroleum that had been sent out from
England to fill us up with oil fuel as we had by
this time run fairly short of oil.

After
oiling all ships proceeded independently and
anchored in pairs off Stockholm.

The
Football team were to play the Swedish Navy at the
Stadium. The City is built something like Venice
i.e. on a group of Islands. I believe it is called
the Venice of the Baltic.

The
Royal Palace was quite close to our anchorage but
the King & Queen were away at the time. Concerts
& Balls were arranged for the Officers as usual,
the men having to shift for themselves. We played
the Swedish Navy at the Stadium & lost 3-4.

Things
were very dear here. The rate of exchange 16.80
against the pre war 18.44 made things much worse. It
cost you 1 Krona to open your mouth & 2 Krona to
shut it, not reckoning the cost to fill it.

Three
of us went into a Café & ordered steak,
vegetables & stout. The piece of steak was about
half the size of the palm or the hand with 2
potatoes & a spoonful of onions with a glass of
stout, price 21/- the three. Next move, exit the
three of us.

Everyone
here seemed to be the owner of a bicycle.

What
I saw of the place I thought very nice, but owing to
the lack of funds as the banks were closed & if
you wanted to change any money at the Café's they
diddled you over so that the £1 dropped in value
from 17/- at the banks to 13/- in the Café's, so we
weren't having any.

Life
in this place begins when it was time for us to
return onboard about 11.30 PM, so I didn't bother to
go ashore here again. This night a Stoker from the
flagship Curacoa fell overboard when coming off at
night & was drowned before he could be picked up
(believed to
be Stoker 1c Arthur BILLINGHURST K 57348 on
Saturday, 24 September1921).
He was buried the next day with full honours.
Swedish Army & Navy lined the routes.

The
ships were open to visitors on Sunday (25 Sept).
We had crowds onboard, but very few of the men
offered to take the visitors round owing most
probably to lack of knowledge of the language,
although several who came could speak a little
English. Still it made it rather a stiff job trying
to make them understand things & also
understanding the large number of questions that
were being asked.

I
wasn't sorry to leave Stockholm. Why? I couldn't
say, except that I was disappointed with the place.

We
left at 9 AM on Tuesday Sept 27th for
Copenhagen about 500 miles distant. As we also had a
night attack to do we didn't anticipate reaching
Copenhagen until early on Thursday morning.

The
weather was still rather rough when we left.

Copenhagen, Denmark

Royal
Danish Yacht proceeding up harbour after
the King had disembarked

We
arrived here at 8 AM today Thursday Sept 29th.

The
Destroyers proceeded up harbour with the Flagship.
The other three Light Cruisers remaining outside.

Friday
30th H.M King of Denmark arrived in his
Yacht accompanied by three Destroyers.

As
soon as H.M. the King arrived, ships were dressed
& manned as the Yacht made way to her moorings
just abreast us.

The
King didn't remain long after arrival, but proceeded
ashore in his steamboat for the palace. He was due
back at 2PM to inspect the Flagship & did so as
Hon British Admiral for which he received a 17 gun
salute, the forts returning same.

All
Captains were commanded to dine with him at 7 PM on
Saturday Oct 1st.

Invitations
were received for Officers to pay a visit to the
Porcelain Factory.

Visitors
coming alongside at Copenhagen

The
Danes are a very likeable, kind people, our men made
many friends here, consequently visitors came
onboard in large numbers.

The
town itself is planned on quite a large scale as
regards the width of the roads, in the form of
avenues with a special track for bicycles. As
bicycles are very cheap here everyone seems to own a
machine. The Langalene Gardens that run parallel to
the river possess some very fine monuments of which
I took snaps of several, although it was raining
slightly when I went onshore. We had a very pleasant
stay her of 4 days & were sorry to leave.

Bronze
Mermaid on the Langalene Front, the
Destroyers
Vanquisher, Violent & Venetia are in the middle
distance

Gothenburg

We
left Copenhagen (Monday) at 9.30 PM Oct 3rd
for Gothenburg in a heavy gale, and arrived at 5.30
the following morning (Tuesday 4 Oct). Tugs
with Pilots came out to receive us, also a tug with
cinema operators onboard.

We
arrived abreast the town two hours afterwards. The
river here being very narrow. The Harbour swarmed
with Steamers lying up for lack of cargoes, for
miles there was nothing but Steamers.

An
invitation was received for 500 men each night, we
were to visit the cinema ashore. They also showed
the view of the Squadron entering.

I
didn't see anything very exciting or tempting ashore
here, although the main streets looked very
imposing.

The
Swedish Petty Officers paid a visit to the Squadron
on a tour of inspection. The ships were also open to
visitors in the afternoon.

The
local newspapers were full of the significance of
the British Fleets visit, but as part of the German
Fleet had been here some months early and had the
same kind of stuff served out to them, we took it
all as part of the great game ("Diplomacy"). Things
were rather dear here as the rate of exchange was
against us. We played Gothenburg at football &
lost 10-1 so we didn't have much to be proud of.

The
snaps I took I spoilt, so consequently I can't show
you what Gothenburg is like. We left for Christiania
our last port of call for the cruise at 4 PM on
Friday Oct 7th in rough weather as per
usual. The rough weather seemed to follow up about.

Christiania
(now Oslo), Norway

We
arrived off the entrance to Christiania about 7.30
the following morning (Saturday 8 Oct), but
as we had about 40 miles to go up the Fiords we
didn't arrive off the town until just after 11 AM.

After
arrival we were ordered to man ship as H.M. the
Queen of Norway was going to pass the Fleet on her
way to England onboard SS Bessheim. The Steamer
passed about 12.10 PM. A salute was fired.

Invitations
were received from the Anglo-Norse Society to attend
a concert in the Opera House in Carljohans Gade, at
which the King of Norway was expected to be present.
I went to the concert which was a tip top one. The
King didn't put in an appearance.

I
also had a trip up the mountains to a place called
Hollamskolen about 40 minutes run by electric
railway.

From
the top a splendid view is obtained of Christiania
& the surrounding Fiords. The people here were
very friendly & fraternised a lot with the
Sailors. It was rather surprising to find the number
of people that could speak English. H.M. the King
gave a Command Dinner to all Captains & paid an
official visit to the Flagship.

We
had a very nice time of it here, prices were fairly
good considering and I think the majority of us
would have liked to have stayed a few days longer,
but as we had to adhere to our programme, we left at
4 PM on Thursday 13th Oct for home ports.
The Light Cruisers going to Invergordon & the
Destroyers to the Destroyer Base at Port Edgar.

We
had one of the roughest trips across the North Sea
that I think I've ever experienced in a Destroyer,
so was very thankful when May island hove in sight
about 11 AM on Saturday Oct 15th & we
eventually reached our base about 2 PM very pleased
to get it over.

If
I went on the same cruise again I should prefer it
to be of longer duration.

End

Two
unidentified gunnery PO's on board HMS
Vanquisher -
perhaps the two men, who with Yeoman of Signals
George Smith,
made the threesome who went ashore together on the
Baltic cruise.